Massacre military-police action in Penha and Alemão

Massacre military-police action in Penha and Alemão

It took us a few days to process the violent events in our case study neighbourhood of Penha and nearby Alemão in Rio de Janeiro. Media worldwide have now reported on the raid on Monday night and Tuesday, October 27-28th, by BOPE (Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais). It appeared that the intention of right-wing governor and BOPE boss Claudio Castro was to eliminate or at least severely defeat the drug syndicate Comando Vermelho (the Red Commando). The operation, lasting over twelve hours, was the deadliest ever, with over 120 fatalities. The Commando responded with heavy weapons. To better understand the conceivable pressure on the local population following the massacre, Favas.net has mapped out the logistics and chronology of the military-police operation below.

BOPE enters Alemão and Penha from several sides (1) and sets up a cordon on the ridge in the forest (Favas.net presumes along Engenho da Rainha), the so-called BOPE wall (2). Members of the Red Commando flee Penha (4) but end up against their will in the partially open area between Penha and Alemão where the ‘battle’ would eventually concentrate (3). Many of them are slaughtered there, though an unknown number manage to escape to the west (4). The day after the massacre, residents remove more than 50 dead bodies from the forest and display their corpses in protest at Praça São Lucas. Many residents are furious and mourn the loss of their families. The war between the police and the unfortunately all-powerful Red Commando is particularly affecting the residents of Rio’s favelas. Human rights organizations have strongly criticized the operation.

See also our case study on Penha (11) and the news of January this year on the violent police action in Penha with casualties around the BRT station (12).

Source: Favas.net (& various local sources)
Mapping: Favas.net (& OpenStreetMap)

See also the other Penha features at Favas.net:
Favela Penha suffers police violence
The cable car of Alemão
Police mega-operation in Penha